


Smash Swimmers

by green_piggy



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, slight crossover with super smash bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2014-08-08
Packaged: 2018-02-12 08:44:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2102967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_piggy/pseuds/green_piggy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haru invites everyone around to his house for a day of Super Smash Brothers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Smash Swimmers

**Author's Note:**

> We all need healing after that latest episode of freelings so have this.

“Super Smash Bros?” Rin tastes the English words in his mouth; he's heard of it, but unlike Makoto, he's not a huge gaming geek, so he doesn't know too much about it. “We're playing this?”

“If you don't mind.” He smiles softly. “You should be able to read the text, right? I always struggle with it...”

“Ah!” Nagisa pounces onto Rin's arm, his face solemn with no hint of his usual joy. “Mako-chan is a terror at this game, do not be fooled by the puppy eyes!”

“Can we just play?” Sousuke asks flatly, holding the chunky red controller in his hand. Rin had wanted it, but, of course, Sousuke had to win the one match of rock-paper-scissors that actually mattered.

Momotarou and Ai are chattering in the corner to each other; or, at least, Momotarou is. Ai just looks terrified.

Nagisa returns back to his spot beside Haru, gnawing on his lips as he picks up the Gamecube controller. Haru doesn't spare him a second glance when Nagisa burrows his head into his shoulder. “Ahhhh let's play let's play!”

“I've got the food!” Gou announces loudly as she bounces into the room. Rei comes in after her, both of them carrying large trays stuffed to the brim with unhealthy food. She and Nagisa had eagerly done the food supplies, so there is definitely some questionable food, like... melon bread? She sets them all down on the table in front of the television and snuggles up to Rin. Rei adjusts the trays until he seems happy with them and sits down in the space between Nagisa and Sousuke. “I'm playing the first round!” Gou announces.

Haru glances around. “There's nine of us.”

“Oh, I ain't playing!” Momotarou yells as he stares dreamily at Gou's back. Ai rolls his eyes and pokes at the boy's ribs, doing exactly what Rin was about to do. “Ahhhhh! That hurts, Nitori-senpai!”

Makoto sighs fondly as he loads up the game's title screen. Rei's eyes widen as soon as the character selection screen comes on. “B-beautiful! This is high definition!”

“We haven't even started fighting yet, Rei-chan.”

“We've played this before, Rei,” Haru says with a sigh.

“Still as beautiful as ever!”

Makoto fixes his glasses – they'd been drooping off the end of his nose – with a smile. “All right, who wants to go first?”

Sousuke wrestles his way to the front. “I'm player one,” he says firmly, and no one dares to argue with him. He sits close to Ai and takes the controller that Makoto gives over.

“I'm number two!” Gou cries.

“Three,” Haru murmurs. He glares at the screen with the same intensity that he regards swimming pools and an upset Makoto.

“I-I'm four!” Ai blurts out as he hesitantly shifts closer. Laughing, Rin shoves him forward with a firm hand on the back and hands him his controller.

“Good luck, Ai.”

“T-thank you, Rin-senpai!”

Sousuke immediately picks Princess Peach and leans back, smugness written over his face.

“Peach, Yama-chan?” Nagisa murmurs. “I expected you to go for someone like Little Mac or Snake.”

“I like Peach,” he says, grinning over at Rin.

Gou agonises between Palutena, Luigi, and Bowser before deciding on the middle one. The commenter’s surprise makes Rin chuckle. “Good luck, Gou.”

“Like I need it!” Still, she grins back at Rin before shuffling further into his armpit. He slings an arm around her shoulder and lets her get comfy.

Haru picks Yoshi.

“You picked a dinosaur?” Rin blurts out.

Haru's eyes twinkle with wonder. “I identify with him.” He makes Yoshi's colour palette blue.

Makoto shakes his head, chuckling. “Haru, all of the characters can swim.”

Haru looks at him as though he's been told that there's no mackerel left in Iwatobi. Then, he turns away, cheeks burning bright with an: “...Oh.”

“Even Falco?” Nagisa asks. “Isn't he a giant bird?”

“I don't think they got too hung up over the physics,” Sousuke snarks.

“Don't tell that to fans of the second one,” Rei whispers furiously. “They'll slay you alive!”

“The third one was rubbish!” Nagisa declares. “So slow!”

Him and Rei descend into a half-hearted argument over things that Rin does not even understand. Something about 'L-cancelling' and 'wave-dashing'.

Ai looks nervous as he flicks between all of the characters. Eventually, he mutters: “Screw this.” and chooses the random box, which draws ohhs and ahhs from Nagisa.

“Risky, risky, Ai-chan!”

“Please don't call me that.”

After a bit of persuasion, Sousuke passes his controller to Makoto, who takes it to select the stage, since Sousuke would pick Final Destination and hammer everyone’s asses. He used to play the previous games all of the time in Tokyo. “All right, what stage would-”

“Mushroom Kingdom!”

“Skyworld!”

“Skyloft!”

Rin blinks. “Imaginative.”

Makoto chuckles. “Ah, we'll do random.” He clicks on the button and hands the controller back to Sousuke. “Good luck, Sousuke-kun.”

“Hmm.”

It turns out to be the Fountain of Dreams, and Sousuke, much to the surprise of everyone save Rin, hammers ass as Peach. By the time the match is finished, Haru is nursing a bruised ego as it turns out that he is as shit at video games as he is at track. Ai is over the moon with his second despite getting a mossy-green Charizard as his character, while Gou is visibly fuming with her lowly third ranking.

“I hate that Final Smash!” she yells at Sousuke. He leans back, grinning. “Stupid singing and getting peaches – peaches – and hammering the sh-”

“It's all right, Gou-san!” Momotarou shouts encouragingly. “I’ll always – Rin-senpai!?” Rin leans over and shoves the boy towards Ai; he's even worse than what the captain was, and... that's quite an achievement.

Rei seems to be stuck in a state of permanent fangirling. “Beautiful! Flawless! The animation as Peach glided through the air – the scales on Charizard's wings-”

“Charizard has scales?” Nagisa asks.

“BEAUTIFUL!”

Rin smacks him around the back of the neck. “Shut up, Speedo Glasses, we're next.”

He yanks the controller out of Haru's hands, who seems content to glower at nothing in particular as controllers are swapped and passed. When they return to the character screen, Rin decides to do a Sousuke and pick a character that no one would ever guess him of using.

“Bowser?” Nagisa sighs, head tipped to the side. “How cliché.”

“It's the teeth,” Sousuke supplies.

“Ah, that makes perfect sense! And the fiery hair as well! Bowser's Rinrin's soulmate!”

“Shut up, the both of you!”

“Now, now,” Makoto says. “No need for that. Let's pick who we want to be.”

He chooses Lucina.

“The hell do you and her have in common?”

“Ah, no, she's just a good one to start out with.”

Haru blinks over to Rin. “He'll destroy you. With his eyes closed. He doesn't even use Lucina.”

Nagisa picks Kirby, but looks alarmed at Makoto's choice. “Ah, Mako-chan, you could actually lose if you pick a character you don't use!”

“I'm not that good, Nagisa...”

Rei is agonising over his decision. He squeezes his eyes shut before darting the cursor over to Palutena. “The goddess of light! A halo of hope in the dark depths of-”

“Rei-chaaannnnn!”

“I think we'll stick to the Fountain of Dreams, it'd only be fair on the others,” Makoto murmurs. “If that's all right?”

Rin waves his hand. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Stop being so wishy-washy,” Haru mutters, but he almost grins when Makoto cuffs him on the back of the neck with a: “Be quiet, Haru.” That's probably the closest the two are ever going to get to a proper argument.

The screen loads. The deep, hollowing music begins as Bowser marches onto the screen. Rin grins. He is going to kick so much ass.

As soon as the music explodes, so does his chances at winning.

Makoto is – a beast, but Nagisa and Rei aren't shabby either. Rin spreads most of the fight running away from Lucina and Kirby as they do their best to make his life a living hell. When time runs out, it cuts to a sudden death between Lucina and Palutena; Makoto had gotten knocked out by Palutena's Final Smash in the dying seconds of the match.

When 'SUDDEN DEATH' vanishes from the sceen, a Bob-omb drops on top of Lucina's head. She flies off-screen with a loud cry.

“GAME!”

“I won!” Rei yells. He flings his controller in the air and – is he crying? “I-I never won before! Ah! What a beautiful day!”

Makoto stares at the screen, mouth open, and then throws down the controller with a huff. “So unfair!”

Rin bares his teeth with a grin. “Never knew you were such a sore loser, Makoto.”

“I'm not! It's just – when I was winning and then he got a Final Smash and then I got knocked out by a bomb that wasn't even my fault, that's when I get annoyed!”

“Happens all the time,” Haru deadpans. Rin can't tell if he's being serious or not, so he just gives the controller to him.

“Oh!” Nagisa cries. “Oh! Rinrin and Haru-chan should have a fight! Battle of the rivals!”

“If Haru thinks he can keep up, sure.”

“Both of you came last,” Ai mumbles.

Rin whirls around to him. “I'm still better then he is! He spent the whole fight drowning!”

“No, we need to do team battles!” Gou shouts, sticking her finger sagely into the air. “Two on two!”

Haru turns his pleading eyes on Makoto, who slowly shakes his head. “No, Haru, this is the one thing I refuse to help you with.”

“But...”

Cue their telepathic conversation.

“They're at it again,” Rin mutters. “Oi, Sousuke! Can I-”

“No.”

“...All right, then.”

“You suck worse than an octopus, that's why.”

Rei pushes up his glasses. “An octopus is actually-”

“Don't worry Onii-chan, I'll fight with you!” Gou grins up at him. “Who knows, we might actually do good!”

“Yeah. Somehow, I doubt that.”

“Rei-chan!” Nagisa cries. “Please grace me with your beauty!”

“Ah, Nagisa-kun, I actually wanted to play with Makoto-senpai...”

“Eh? Why? Am I not good enough for you!? Am I not worth it!?”

“N-Nagisa-kun-!” He sighs, pushing on his glasses. “...Very well, then. We shall destroy the battlefield!”

“Yeah! With our matching phone cases!”

“Indeed!”

“Matching phone cases?” Rin echoes, while Gou dissolves into giggles beside him.

“It's a long story,” Nagisa says.

Makoto looks as though he's failing at attempting to detach himself from an unwilling Haru. “H-Haru, please, I'd really like to play with someone else – I'll take you to the pool after!”

“Hmm.”

“I'll make mackerel!”

Haru shivers. “No thanks.”

Makoto must be a really shit cook if Haru is refusing mackerel, Rin thinks.

“Uh... icepops!”

“Deal.”

“You're not playing with Sousuke!” Gou shouts firmly. “That’s just unfair!”

“”O-okay. Just so long as Aiichirou doesn't mind...”

“Of course not, Tachibana-san!”

“I don't mind going with Tachibana,” Sousuke says. Loudly. He's glancing over at Haru as though the latter is diseased. “Really. Not at all.”

Gou's laughter splutters into a deep cough. “A-ah, well, tough! You and Haruka-senpai will have to work together!”

“Tch,” Haru mutters. “Do your best, moge.”

Sousuke frowns. “Excuse me?”

Makoto raises his hands. “Haru, please, you two are on the same team.”

“We're going first!” Rin announces, taking the red controller from himself and grabbing the Gamecube one for Gou, who grins at him. “Anyone who wants to die, step right up!”

Gou grins. “And anyone who doesn't, too bad!”

They high-five. “Aww yeah!”

Makoto smiles over at Ai, urging him over beside him. “Do you want to go, Aiichirou?”

“O-of course!”

“Who should we be, Onii-chan?”

“I dunno. Just pick your best, 'cause we need to hammer their asses into next year.”

Makoto grins. “Do your best, Rinrin.”

“Excuse me!?”

Sousuke chuckles.

Ai picks Robin and shuffles the controller about in his lap as he waits for the others. Rin tries to flash him a smile, but he looks too nervous for words. Makoto must sense his discomfort, as he whispers something into Ai's ear that makes him smile back.

 

Gou goes for Fox, which prompts a chorus of jeers from Nagisa. Momotarou springs into action and clamps a hand over the blond's mouth. “Don't you talk shit about Gou-san!”

Gou flushes red. “Kintarou-”

“Momotarou!” And then he begins again. He whirls himself into the air with a flourish. “Mikoshiba Momotarou! My hobby is hunting for stag beetles! They call me the-”

Sousuke slams the boy's back, making him crumple with a cry of defeat. “Get back to sleep.”

“Eh!? You stay out of this, Sousuke-senpai!”

“She's a furry fan!” Nagisa cries.

Sousuke also smacks Nagisa's back. “You picked a marshmallow.”

“Kirby's cute!”

Rin rolls his eyes and picks Olimar, because the guy looks cute as hell. Makoto nibbles on his lip, but eventually sighs and chooses the Wii Fit Trainer.

“Ohh, he's getting serious!” Nagisa says. Haru nods grimly over at Rin, which tells him all that he needs to know, really.

“Battlefield all right?”

“Just pick it,” Haru says.

–

Several ass hammerings later, they've arrived here.

“The grand finals!” Nagisa announces loudly, twirling a roll of bread about as a shitty microphone as he strides about in front of them all. “Place your bets now! Everyone in the Captain Tripod camp, raise your hand!”

“C-Captain Tripod!?” Makoto stares at Nagisa until his entire face burns with humiliation a couple of seconds later. He buries his cheeks into his hands and groans and fuck Rin only just got it.

Gou wrinkles her nose. “Nagisa-kun, that is disgusting!”

“Did not need to know,” Sousuke mutters, staring at Makoto as though he'll never look at him the same way again.

“It's not that big,” Haru supplies.

Makoto's ears burn. “Haru!”

“DID NOT NEED TO KNOW.”

“You – you know what it looks like?! Creep!” Momotarou rockets away from Haru. “Ewww!”

“Y-yeah, how the hell would you know that?” Rin asks. Haru shrugs.

“Proportionate.”

“DID. NOT. NEED. TO. KNOW.” Sousuke has lost all colour in his face. Rin winces; if there's one thing Sousuke has always been uncomfortable with, it's discussing other people's bodies. He grins afterwards.

“Calm down, guys, we all have them. Apart from you, Gou-chan, but you're weird.”

Rei leaps up and tries to drag down his friend. “NAGISA-KUN!”

Nagisa shrugs him off easily. “-So is no one in the Captain Tripod camp?” Nagisa pouts just as Haru, Rin and Gou all raise their hands. “Ah, Gou-chan must be impressed by-”

Rin leaps up and grabs Nagisa in a headlock. “SHUT UP. SHUT UP SHUT UP.”

“Is that big ego meant to make up for something a little, ah, smaller, Rin-chan~?”

“You little shit-!” He whirls his head around; where's his backup when he needs it!? “Sousuke, help me out here!”

Sousuke grins. “You're not supporting me, so I ain't helping you.”

“Jeez, man, you got everyone else!” He lets go of Nagisa when he begins to struggle and drops back between Gou and Makoto. “You try anything you devil shota, and I'll rip that hair of yours off.”

“I was thinking of going bald, actually...” Nagisa muses. Rei splutters on oxygen.

“N-Nagisa-kun, please!”

“Why not?”

“It's not beautiful!”

“Aww, are you saying that I'm pretty!?”

Rei's face burns brighter than his glasses. It’s quite the sight. “N-NAGISA-KUN-!”

“Don't do anything to her!” Rin bares his teeth and glares at the blond until he gets that no one ruins his sister's innocence.

“Gotcha,” Nagisa says, grinning. “So everyone else is in the Barasuke camp, then?”

“What.” Sousuke stares up at Nagisa. “That's the best you could come up with?”

He grins. “Well, it was either that or 'I-like-shoving-people-into-vending-machines-and-using-my-height-for-evil'-suke, so we went for the shorter one.”

“Your English is awful,” Rin announces. Nagisa winks at him. “You sound like a sheep trying to moo.”

“We?” Sousuke looks over to Haru, who is gazing back at him blankly. “You told them?”

“Makoto kept bugging me.”

“And I'd really appreciate it if you didn't do anything like that again, Sousuke-kun,” Makoto says, smiling widely, but he has that 'I-will-fuck-your-shit-up-so-hard' look in his eyes. Sousuke actually gulps and looks away down to his controller. “If you have a problem with Haru, or anyone else, bring it up nicely.”

“Tch. Fine. I'm sorry.”

And just like that, Makoto's tense expression melts. “No problem!” he chirps, and how it is possible for anyone to be that forgiving, Rin does not know.

“Let's play let's play!” Nagisa cries as he darts out of the way of the television screen. Then, he brings his hand up to his forehead and jabs it out. “Show me ya moves!”

Rei snorts and then chortles, waving his hand about widely as he shakes in laughter. “N-Nagisa-kun, that was an awful impression!”

“That was an impression?” Rin asks.

“Captain Falcon,” Gou says, and then she and Nagisa both yell: “FALCOOONNN PAAWWNNNCCHHHH!” They bump their fists together as Nagisa flops down beside her.

Makoto laughs warmly. “Guess you two like him, then.”

“FALCON KICK!”

Sousuke tsks, but he's trying not to smile and failing as he chooses Zelda. “Hope you're ready to lose, Tachibana.”

“Only when you are, Sousuke-kun.”

Haru beams over at his friend like a proud father as the entire room ohhs. When Rin glances to Momotarou, he's still asleep. He just has his mouth open as drool slides out of it.

Attractive.

Gou really is into that kind of stuff.

Makoto chooses Mr. Game and Watch. Everyone falls into a grave silence.

Then: “You're so screwed,” Nagisa whispers.

Sousuke snorts gently as Battlefield is chosen. “Tachibana isn't that good.”

–

After sleeping bags and futons are pulled out for the night (Haru has two living rooms, so they spilt them up), Rin is brushing his teeth alongside Sousuke, the two of them getting ready for bed.

Sousuke spits out the toothpaste with a smile and washes out his mouth. “I did enjoy that, you know.”

Rin nods. “I guessed,” he somehow says around a mouth of fluffy toothpaste. “You looked like you were having fun.”

“Hmm. At least Nanase's shit at something.”

Rin laughs and nearly chokes. “A-ah, yeah. Well, he's pretty crap at track too, I heard.”

He leans on the shower stall, watching Rin finish up, then Sousuke quietly says: “I wasn't expecting Tachibana to be some sort of beast, though. He looks like a thousand puppies rolled together and sprinkled with sugar and shit.”

“You ever see him swimming?” Sousuke thinks, then shakes his head. “He’s ridiculously aggressive.”

“But he's fast?”

“Pretty. And he-” He opens his mouth but slams it shut just in time. Even if Sousuke is his best friend, Rin can't tell him about Makoto's fear. That's something that Makoto has to say himself.

“What's up?” Sousuke says.

He shakes his head, smiling a little. “Nothing.”

They break out into the living room where they'd played. The two of them, Haru, and Makoto are all sleeping in here, while the others took the room next door. Rin trusts Nagisa to keep an eye on Gou and stop Momotarou from getting any ideas. Haru and Makoto are nowhere in sight, though. All of their controllers are still scattered over the place.

Sousuke sighs and begins to pick them up. Rin follows, and when they put them all back in front of the telly, the two still aren't back. Rin pulls his neck back with a groan. “Where the hell did they go?”

“Don't know.” Sousuke settles down into the futon in the middle of the room. “Just get into bed, they'll be in soon enough.”

“They're probably being sappy as hell,” Rin mutters, but he drags his sleeping bag close to Sousuke and peels off his socks before jumping into it. Just as Rin is ready to pull the covers up, the door clicks open. He hears Sousuke's breath quickly slow – trying to be asleep? - so he slams his eyes shut and does the same. It's a bit nosy, he knows, but he can't bring himself to mind too much.

“Thanks for having us around today, Haru-chan.”

A small humph. “Drop the -chan.”

“They're both asleep, don't worry about it. Oh! They put all of the stuff away.” He can imagine Makoto rubbing at his cheek while Haru is as impassive as always. “That's sweet of them.”

The shuffling of bags. “Yeah. Listen, Makoto-”

“Yeah?”

“Everything all right?”

“Huh?” A short pause, then Makoto's soft – nervous – laugh. “Ah, yeah. I'm just worried about Sousuke – I think I offended him today? I don't want him to hate me and I did snap at him a little, didn't I?”

“Hardly. If that counts as snapping, I don't want to see your scolding.”

Makoto laughs. “Be quiet, Haru-chan! But still... he... I don't know, he seems like it takes a lot to please him? He didn't seem that happy around here today and I don't want him to be uncomfortable.”

“He's best friends with Rin. Anyone who puts him with him can't be too bad.”

Rin bites his tongue to prevent snapping at him. He isn't that bad!

“Haru-chan, that's mean!” The two of them laugh briefly. “Yeah, thanks, Haru. I guess we should get to sleep. Everyone else is. Asleep, I mean.”

“Yeah.” Haru sounds as though he's standing up. “Here's your bed back.”

“Eh? No, no, you were there first, Haru-!”

“Stop being stupid and get in it.”

“O-okay. Good night, Haru-chan.”

“Good night, Makoto. And don't worry about it. Yamazaki wouldn’t have come over if he didn't want to.”

“...Thanks, Haru-chan.”

“But stop saying my name all of the time.”

Makoto just laughs as he shuffles into his bed. Rin is about to open his eyes when he hears: “Oh, I forgot the cushions!”

“I really don’t think they need cushions,” Haru says.

“Still, I’d like to-!”

“Fine, let’s go and get them.”

“Thanks, Haru-chan.”

They get up and the door slides shut behind them. When it does, Sousuke lets out a long suffering sigh.

“Those two are ridiculous. Like we really need cushions.”

“That’s what you find ridiculous!?” Rin snarls. “Really?”

He can imagine Sousuke shrugging in the bed. “Well, and some other things.”

“Like what?”

“…Hmm. Their girly names.”

“I give up. Eh!? My name's girly too!"

Sousuke chuckles. "I know."

"You shut up!"


End file.
